Return to Liora Blake’s Grand Valley series with Second Chance Season, in which an avowed country boy with a family duty meets an ambitious city girl with even bigger goals and who shows him just what he’s been missing.

Garrett Strickland is unapologetically country, fiercely loyal, and perfectly happy with his job at the Hotchkiss Co-op. Garrett is all about living in the present and not dwelling in the past—even if he was once on his way to a lofty agricultural sciences degree that would guarantee the brightest of futures, only to end up back home when his old man died, leaving behind a debt-ridden family farm that was impossible to keep afloat. After that, it was easy to see why dreaming big wasn’t worth the heartache. And until he crosses paths with a city girl who’s hell-bent on kick-starting her own future, he’s sure that good enough is just that.

Cara Cavanaugh is ready for more from life, even if that means changing everything; including dumping her boyfriend of ten years, turning down a lucrative job at a major newspaper, and leaving behind the upscale suburbs of Chicago where she grew up. Now, she just has to pray that temporarily relocating to the middle of nowhere in Colorado will be the first step in building a career as a freelance journalist—all she has to do is prove she’s got what it takes to make a name for herself. Unfortunately, her tony country day school is as close to “country” as she’s ever been. But when a goodhearted guy who looks like he just stumbled out of a country music video offers to help, she ends up falling hard…and discovering that the perfect story is a love story. And it’s theirs.

Second Chance Season, book two in the Grand Valley series, is a charming, feel-good romance, perfect for fans of Jennifer Probst and Kristan Higgins.

Garrett Strickland works at a dead end job at Hotchkiss Co-Op he has grown to accept his simple country life. Cara Cavanaugh is trying to break out of her socialite life and make it as a freelance writer much to her mother’s disapproval. When Garrett helps Cara out of a bind, he thinks she is as a city as she gets. It seems like an ironic twist of fate when she stays at the farm where Garrett grew up. The very farm he had to sell. Sparks fly between them as they decide to have a relationship in the eight weeks Cara will be there. They think they will be able to walk away when the eight weeks is over.

In ” an Oyster Shell – A steamy romance that I struggled to engage in.

The Pearls – I liked Cara’s character. She was active and determined. Garrett was too in his way. So bringing the two of them together there were very appropriate fireworks. I liked how Cara adapted to country life. She pushed the boundaries on her upbringing. She wasn’t afraid to break out of what she knew.

I loved how Garrett had just accepted his lot in life, and Cara pushed him to want more. It was the best part of the story.

The romance was tantalizing. Bringing a country boy with a city girl made for a great story.

The Sand – The story was hard to get excited about. It was a little bit predictable.

3.5 Pearls

About Liora Blake

Liora Blake is a contemporary romance author living in Colorado.

When she isn’t writing, she’s likely baking cookies she shouldn’t eat, inventing elaborate excuses to avoid going for a run, or asking the nice barista to sell her another quad-shot Americano.